HOW TO PERFORM YOUR OWN INSTAGRAM AUDIT

Are you new to Social Media or have you been on it for a while? either way, it’s time to Re-evaluate ➕ reassess your strategy and goals!It’s time to do a Social Media Audit! Just picture it like spring cleaning for your profile 😂🙌🏼Doing an audit is a way of making sure your accounts are aligned with your business ➕ personal goals and making sure your strategy is making the most of your hard work and effort!

Not sure where to start? I GOT YOU BABE! 😘

I’m about to walk you step-by-step through how to run your own Social Media audit!

Step 1 // GOALS

What are your business//brand goals as a whole? Your social media is an added extension to your marketing ➕ business efforts— and that’s exactly what they should reflect! Making sure everything is aligned from top to bottom is KEY— even if you haven’t had any changes in your business lately!

For example, if your brand is newer and you’re focused on getting more customers//clients— your social media goal is probably going to be overall followers and engagement growth, right? RIGHT!

Step 2 // WHO ARE YOU? ➕ BRANDING

Now that you have your Social Media goals, you can start reviewing your brand.

Basically, what it comes down to is consistency: your Instagram should look, sound, and feel the same across the board.Your tribe should be able to look at your Instagram account and KNOW who you are and what you are about— and what you do.

From first look to your bio.. everything should be consistent and on-brand!

So---

Is your Instagram handle the same as your brand name? What about your Facebook page? and is it consistent across other social channels?

Using the same name or handle across all of your social accounts is the BEST way to boost your discoverability. If one of your Facebook followers knows you by one name but you use a different name on Instagram.... you could be missing out on potential followers, which is huge if you’re a small business!

with that said, sometimes it’s okay to use different handles across your channels! BUT the reasoning should be obvious to your audience. So ask yourself: if your Instagram account isn’t your brand name, is it easily discoverable and understood to be connected your brand?

Now... your bio! We know bio’s are limited on character counts... so you only have a few words, to get straight to the point of You, your business ➕ grab the attention of your audience.

➕Is your bio accurate and the same across other accounts?➕Does your bio explain what your brand is?➕What are the words that describe your brand? Are they obvious when you look at your profile, overall content, and bio?

If it isn’t or you aren’t completely blown away, try some new options!Write a few variations of your brand statement, your tagline, and ask a friend or coach for their thoughts. You might be surprised with what you come up with! And remember: keep it simple. The more difficult you make it for people to grasp what your business does, the less likely they’ll want to tap “follow.”

Step 3 // CONTENT ➕ AESTHETIC

Your Bio and Name is only part of growing your account... the most important part is AMAZING CONTENT and CONSISTENCY!! Consistency in content doesn’t mean posting the same thing over and over and over again either! Consistency is sharing your story that is clear and obvious to your audience! Same as your bio— they need to know who you are ➕ what you have to offer without scrolling back 2 months!

So Let’s start by looking at your last 9 posts! Do you have a consistent color palette or aesthetic? Per your branding— this could mean one color or several similar colors! And for pictures— are they bright? Crisp? Consistent? Cool or warm feel? All of this sounds and seems crazy... but when it looks so much more attractive—- it’s attracts more people! Just by taking the time to do these things can take your profile from okay to amazing! And your followers will come much easier and faster!This also makes your content come together too!

Here’s my instagram below for example!

It’s fairly easy to create a theme for your account, but it’s a lot more difficult to have a theme that’s unique to your business. Having a unique theme is key if your business operates in a highly competitive market, such as beauty and fashion. Your content needs to stand out but still align with your vision.

Is it immediately obvious what your business does based on your latest 9 posts?

This one might be a little easier for ecommerce businesses as you have actual products to showcase, but no matter what your business offers, it’s so important that your audience immediately understands what you’re selling based on your latest 9 posts. If you have a physical product, make sure it stands out in your content mix!

Does your content have a varied mix?Basically, are you keeping things interesting for your audience? It can be tempting to only showcase your product over and over again, but mixing up your product posts with inspirational posts or lifestyle content is VERY important.

Now that you’ve reviewed your content as a visual whole, it’s time to dig into your individual posts!

Are your photos and videos good quality (no pixelation or low-res imagery)?

Have any posts that have lower engagement? Can you figure out why? Are any posts blowing up with engagement? Can you identify why?

Really take the time and review your Instagram content post by post — and see what kinds of content perform best for your account! If you find that one kind of content does better, don’t take that as a— only post that type of content from now on.This is more about identifying the posts that cause your audience to engage (or not).The more you familiarize yourself with what works and what doesn’t, the easier it will be to create engaging content moving forward.

The most important question of all——Is your content relevant to your audience?No matter how beautiful your content is or how on-brand it is, if it isn’t relevant to your audience, it won’t help you achieve your business goals. Period!

That’s why it’s so important to know your tribe ➕ audience!!

Step 4 // YOUR TRIBE ➕ FOLLOWERS

Engagement means different things to different accounts, but Mostly, your tribe should feel like you care about them and that they’re being listened to.

Are you responding to comments and DMs in a reasonable amount of time?

A reasonable amount of time will definitely depend on the size of your following, but really what you’re trying to determine is whether or not your community is being listened to. This includes looking at older posts for new comments and checking your DM requests consistently!

Are you following the accounts that are currently connected to your brand ➕ tribe?

For small businesses, this is a great way to get your brand out there and connect with potential influencers. It also shows that you’re actually active on the platform and not just using it as a way to drive sales. So take the time to review your current following list, trim it down, and add some new relevant accounts!

Are you liking and/or commenting on tagged and hashtagged photos as they appear?Like responding to DMs and comments on your own content, it’s equally important to respond to tagged and hashtagged posts related to your brand.

Your tribe is so important and one of the most important things to build—- and hello! This is where your support and income comes from as well!

Step 5 // HASHTAGS ON INSTAGRAM

Whether you love them or not, hashtags have to have your attention on Instagram. Posts with at least one hashtag average 12.6% more engagement than posts without hashtags, and they’re the best way to find your tribe and help grow your following. With engagement on Instagram becoming harder and harder— you need all the help you can get!

➕Are you using relevant hashtags that both fit your brand and your tribe?➕Do you have at least one branded hashtag that you consistently use?➕Are you selecting hashtags that are more niche than broad?

You have to figure out whether or not you’re using the right hashtags for your business!

You want to make sure that your content is actually discoverable and not lost in all of the popular hashtag feeds like #food or #beauty. Not sure where to start?

Sooooo YOU DID IT!Now that your Social Media audit is complete— go back and review any questions you responded “no” to or felt iffy about.Use these questions as a starting point to take your Instagram account to the NEXT LEVEL!!! 🖤